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  • Vrbjanska Chuka
  • Slavej, Prilep
  •  
  • North Macedonia
  • Krivogashtani

Credits

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Monuments

Periods

  • No period data has been added yet

Chronology

  • 6000 BC - 5600 BC

Season

    • Тhe excavations of Vrbjanska Chuka in 2019 focused on the architectural stratigraphy in the Neolithic settlement and its chronology, as well as the 3D scanning and modeling of the trench and the interior structures. However, in addition to the fieldwork on Vrbjanska Chuka in 2019, various segments of the site and material were also explored. Teams from the University of Cologne, the University of Basel, the Biosense Institute and Pryncipat worked on the construction techniques recorded in the daub, processed the geomagnetic scanning data from neighboring tells and performed archaeozoological, archaeobotanical and lipid analyzes. Some of this research is still ongoing, while some have already been published and provide a thorough insight into the daily life of the community in this Neolithic settlement. The vessels, figurines, models, altars and tools found in this campaign are not significantly different from previous excavations, published on several occasions. The pottery has the usual typology for the Velushina-Porodin group in Pelagonia, except for the large production of fine pottery with small nipple applications and black colored lines. The white painting of the vessels has also been discovered in several contexts, with patterns similar to those of the vessels in Optichari and Velushka Tumba in the central part of Pelagonia. The number of figurines, models and altars found in 2019 is lower, because the excavation was more focused on the new quadrants where most of the fieldwork was concentrated on the later layers, i.e., the Roman and Medieval horizons. These objects also contain the standard features of the Velushina-Porodin cultural group, although there are certain features specific to this settlement, such as the stylization of the human body among figurines, minimization of anthropomorphic cylinder elements specific to house models, and perforations in the altars. Regarding the architecture, it can be noted that in 2019, in addition to the excavation of the current buildings, a revision was executed to all recorded buildings unearthed in the 1980’s campaigns and to those from the last four years. It can be confirmed that elements of 17 buildings were discovered in all Neolithic strata, in an area of 20 x 30 m. This means that despite the relatively low Neolithic stratigraphy of 1.10 m, there are at least 6 layers of buildings built on top of each other, which confirms the dynamic life in this Neolithic settlement. It should be noted that there are no sediments between the layers created by catastrophic or intensive geological phenomena, so it can be concluded that the life in the settlement was continuous without disruptions. As for the architectural features, they are common for the Macedonian and Balkan Neolithic, with several basic types of buildings: buildings with fired walls, buildings with unfired daub walls, buildings with dug channels for the foundations of walls and buildings dug into the ground and plastered with a thin layer of burnt and unfired daub. The architecture in Vrbjanska Chuka is especially recognized by the buildings with a multitude of internal structures, like Building 2 with dimensions of 10 x 13 m that has as many as 12 constructions made of clay in it (ovens, bins, tubes, and oval structures for grinding grain). Comparing it with other sites in the region, Vrbjanska Chuka has components that are already known for the Neolithic settlements, but also some features that are specific to this site. It is apparent that there were dynamic social processes, but not so intense as to achieve continuity of one or more millennia, typical for some larger tells in the Balkans. The radiocarbon dating of several layers of the Neolithic settlement indicate that it was active for a period of about 250-300 years, i.e., from 6000 to 5700 BC. With its approximate height of 4 m (partly formed by geological processes in the Neogene) and cultural horizons of approximately 2 m, this mound had a picturesque Neolithic society, but then there was no activity for several thousand years until the founding of Roman settlements in the region. This site is synchronous with most of the excavated Neolithic tells in Pelagonia and had social connections with those in Porodin, Mogila, Optičari and Topolchani, but also with some of the regions in Polog, Tikvesh, Ohrid and Korçë, such as the tells near Stenche, Brvenica, Begovo Pole, Dolno Trnovo, Podgori, Vastëmi etc. After a huge gap of five millennia, Vrbjanska Chuka became an active site again, most likely as a Roman villa rustica, and later as a medieval necropolis and storage area with numerous pits. This diversity of Neolithic, Classical and Medieval strata indicates that this tell was attractive to agricultural communities in different eras but was not favored from the Chalcolithic to the expansion of the Roman Empire. The discovery and excavation of the neighboring tells indicate the existence of prehistoric settlements near the abandoned Vrbjanska Chuka. Ongoing research on Vrbjanska Chuka, as well as the future excavations at the neighboring sites, will provide thorough answers to these economic or symbolic links between the settlements inhabited by the first farmers in northern parts of Pelagonia that initiated significant social change with their dispersion across the valley and abroad.

Bibliography

  • No records have been specified